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Carb fuel lines seeping fuel, normal?

tale

New member
I'm restoring a 1989 100HP Mariner 2 stroke. When I got it, it had been sitting for 15 years. The fuel lines look to have been previously replaced with weed eater fuel line and they had dry rotted so that there was only a small piece around the nipple under the zip tie. I went to boats.net and ordered the OEM fuel line and installed it. The engine runs, but it doesn't seem right for these lines to be seeping like they are.

I have already removed the zip ties and then replaced them with 8" zip ties like the service manual recommends. I pulled them as tight as I could get them by hand. I have noticed that when I first go to start the engine, the fuel bulb never gets hard like on my other boat. It is a new bulb that I replaced this summer. I can feel the fuel in it, but it isn't hard. I can continue pumping it and eventually I just see fuel coming out the front of the carbs when I have the cover off the front.

Thoughts? Why doesn't the bulb get hard? Is it normal for the lines to slowly leak fuel? Check out my video and let me know. Thanks!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/wJwqKCZaaqAnhWEr9
 
Floats in the carbs may be sticking.
Any motor that has been sitting needs the carbs cleaned.
Fuel hoses are NOT supposed to leak.
 
I just used regular zip ties. I didn't know that there were radial head zip ties. The zip ties from Mercury are $64! :) Do you think these would do the trick? It says they are for fuel lines and they seem to have the different head on them.

https://www.amazon.com/ZipTie-com-8...5FPZXRY/ref=pd_lpo_1?pd_rd_i=B085FPZXRY&psc=1

As for the carbs, I have cleaned the carbs. They definitely needed cleaning. I checked the needles and they seemed fine. I'm not sure what to look for to determine if they are good. They had a good point on them. I was looking for deformities in the point. The floats moved freely too. I replaced all the gaskets with new replacements.

Any thoughts on the fuel bulb not getting hard? Would that be because the fuel lines didn't have a good enough seal due to me not using the radial zip ties?
 
I've taken the carbs off and I have verified that flipping them over prevents me from blowing through the fuel intake pipe on all four carbs. Now I'm going to verify that the floats are set to the proper height in the bowls. Is there anything else I should check while I have these open?
 
The Mercury zip ties are different as they make a 360* wrap around the hose that regular ties don't. When you get yours.....look closely at the difference in the locking ends and you will see the reason why they don't leak.
 
Can somebody post a picture of a radial zip tie? The product listing for the OEM zip ties are missing. I got some fuel line zip ties off of Amazon that were a little bit cheaper and I want to see if they are the same thing. Basically the head has a flared end that pushes pressure when you zip it closed.
 
The difference is that regular ties are flat faced. Merc ties are radiused....curved....and extend back under the free end when secured. I don't know what a radial tie is either but what I said came OEM on my Mercury engines!
 
I bet you have the wrong size fuel hose. Most hose I use are
tight to go on and hold well without clamps. I've never had a REGULAR
zip tie to cause a leak.
 
I think you might be right about the wrong size tubing. The tubing I used is #11 in this diagram and I'm putting it on the "T" reducer (#13). The T seems to be a bit smaller than the top and bottom that connects the carbs.

https://www.boats.net/catalog/mercu...09468-thru-0d283221-usa-4cyl/attenuator-plate


I think I might need to get the tubing #27 that is running out from the fuel accelerator in this diagram.

https://www.boats.net/catalog/mercu...p-use-with-90-degree-check-valve-reference-16

I can't find the sizes of these fuel lines anywhere. I'm using this:
https://www.boats.net/product/mercury/9912878?ref=a8d628173df1dc49ab0c1c20393dc3e5a8006af0

and I think I need this:
https://www.boats.net/product/mercury/1430165?ref=c3f42c8749300a5f90f48c7e071e2f3521ec1e60

Can anybody tell me the differences in these fuel lines (inner diameter)? The 26.0 inch vs 38.0 inch descriptions are confusing.
 
So, I was using the wrong size tubing on the "T" reducer. The middle part of the T required the #27 tubing that has a 4mm inner diameter. I took it out today and it ran great. Top speed today was 46 mph according to the GPS on my phone! Plus, it wasn't leaking. :)

Thanks for all the help!
 
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